The Second Chance
by The Banished Prince
Summary: Dib makes a horrible mistake. Knowing about Zims Temporial displacer he sends his conciousness back in time to change everything. What he doesn't count on is Zim's defective PAK's programmed will to survive. Now complete!
1. A Mistake and a Decision

STORY DISCLAIMER: I don't own IZ…I wish I did, but alas I don't. So no suing okay?

Line break Key:

~I~Z~ Character (and time) switch

~I~N~V~A~D~E~R~~Z~I~M~ Same character different time

It was a few years after The Most Horrible X-mas Ever. The years had passed in much the same fashion with Zim attempting to take over the world and Dib stopping him at every turn.

This day started horribly for Zim and only got worse. Gir had made a mess of the house and the computer had allowed it. He growled, and was shoving his now crumpled homework and books into his book bag when a message popped up on the screen. He immediately noticed it was from his tallest and decided to view it instead of rushing to school.

When they told him he was defective he stiffened. They didn't notice and continued on telling him how he was really exiled and how they were growing tired of his bothering them. They told him how Gir was made of nothing other then trash and that he should never contact them ever again before they cut the connection. His maturity while on the filthy planet had grown, and some part of him knew what they said was true.

He was so shocked he just picked up his book bag and left for skool never noticing the cops sitting in wait for him.

~I~ Z~

The day had started normally for Dib. He was woken up by Gaz, under punishment of Doom, and got ready for school. He ate his poop cereal and grabbed his books and shoes before following his younger sister out the door to the bus stop. When he got to Mid-skool a small sense of foreboding began growing. When Zim didn't show up by lunch he knew something was going on. Deciding to skip skool he went to Zim's base to see what the alien was up to.

He was stopped in his tracks when he saw Zim's book bag sprawled out across the lawn. When he noticed the cops lined up along the sidewalk in front of Zim's house he was surprised.

"Shouldn't you be in Skool boy?" One of them asks.

"Why are you here? Do you finally believe me about Zim being an Alien?!" He asks hope filling his stomach.

"You're Dib Membrane?" He questions. At his nod he responds, "Yes we have apprehended the Alien and are waiting for its companion."

"You mean the robot? Just tell it you'll give it a Taco. It'll come right out." Dib says with a shrug.

"Really? You offer the robot a taco." He say turning from Dib to a random man along the sidewalk.

"Yes sir!" The young man says with a salute. "Hey if you come with us I'll give you a taco." Gir peeks around the door mouth drooling.

"Taco?! Can I have some poop cola too?!" He asks with a smile.

"Sure" The man replies.

"!" Gir says dancing out from behind the door and into a cage designed for him.

"Good job boy. I'll remember this." The leader says before they all walk away.

Dib just stands shocked. They finally believed him. They finally caught the world-conquering creature! He let out a laugh and whistled his way back to school with a grin on his face the entire time.

~I~N~V~A~D~E~R~~Z~I~M~

The following days passed slowly. Dib realized that it had only been a week since they caught Zim. Zim was all over the news, pictures of the "real Alien" spread all over the internet and America was the first country to have living proof of extra-terrestrial life. Dib of course was mentioned and none of the children at Skool thought him crazy anymore. As a matter of fact, he was now quite popular, with the hi skoolers too. It was a dream come true for him he finally fit in. His father didn't think of him as insane anymore, he actually believed him for once.

It was when he looked over at Zim's seat to rub in his perfect score on one of his tests that he realized he actually might, possibly, slightly miss the little green poop ball.

Two more agonizingly slow weeks passed before any new news of Zim reached his ears. There was to be an exploratory surgery two days from then. He was of course invited.

~I~N~V~A~D~E~R~~Z~I~M~

The day of the surgery he was excused from class, along with his sister to go see it. It turns out the Police chief did remember his help and convinced the others to let the "discoverer of the Alien" watch even though he was just a child.

He dressed nicely, but casually, and got ready. He ate breakfast and brushed his teeth and hair before his sister could even think of waking him up. She was ready when he went downstairs and they, like usual left the house together. However, instead of getting on the Skool bus like normal, a car was waiting for them.

The drive to the hospital was quiet, Gaz sat staring out the window her GS3 sitting in her lap, off. Dib didn't have much to say to his sister, and it seemed like she didn't want to talk with him either.

The Dean of the hospital greeted them at the door, and they filled the walk to the exploratory rooms with useless chatter about the alien they were going to see. Gaz followed silently mentally preparing herself to see the poor creature, because, unlike her brother, Gaz actually had an idea of how this was going to go. It wouldn't be pretty.

Dib was shocked when he entered the room. At least three hundred people filled the room to the brim; there were scientists, doctors, and even government officials. They parted for the Dean and his guests. It was only when they were seated at the front that either sibling thought to look at the alien strapped to the table.

And strapped he was, with straps covered his arms, legs and even his neck, he lay shaking against the glittering silver of the table. His skin was a gray-green and his antenna lay limp against the table. His eyes were closed but when Dib looked at him they opened. They were dark purple, with hardly any of their normal sparkle in them. They were dead. Dib shuddered and looked away from that piercing gaze. And thoughts began swirling around in his head.

Had he done the right thing? Did Zim _really _deserve this? What would he do now that his one interest in skool was gone?

He glanced back at those eyes. They seemed to tell him that the alien knew he would die on this table. This would be the last time he saw the alien move, even if the humans tried, they would never be able to keep him alive after this.

He began wondering; would they numb him first? They knew not to remove his Pak, right? Did they know he was allergic to water? Should he tell them? Surely they wouldn't give him anything water or meat based right? Did they know anything other then he was an alien? Were they smart enough to learn all they could before they began the surgery? Would they put him to sleep?

He started to panic. This wasn't what he wanted. Gaz laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him from hyperventilating. He looked over at her and knew she had the same worries in her head.

~I~Z~ (This next scene is slightly gory…I believe it came from the part of my mind that loves reading JTHM…)

As the surgeon makes the first incision Zim closes his eyes in a vain attempt to keep from crying. As the surgery progresses they try and wash the blood away from his squeedlyspooch using a water-based disinfectant. Zim screams out as the water burns at his major organ. He writhes in pain, snaps his bonds and clutches his burning chest with his arms. Tears run down his face and he screams until his squeedlyspooch can't provide him with any more air.

The surgeon backs off wide-eyed at the huge mistake that he made. The substance continues to burn through Zim, not seeming to stop and it slowly eats through his bones and skin until all that's left is his PAK.

Over the outrage in the room no one hears Zim's PAK make one last decision. No one notices a small disk fall from the PAK before it shudders and dies. None see the disk crawl over the floor and up the wall to slide itself into Dib's pocket. Not even Dib.

Dib's eyes are wide and Gaz is sobbing into his shoulder. He couldn't believe…it wasn't supposed to…surely Zim was just playing him, but his PAK, and…he hadn't even gotten to say goodbye… Several doctors were up on their feet yelling at the surgeon and the Dean immediately fires the man for such a big screw up, but Dib and Gaz didn't notice.

When Dib got out of the hospital he promptly emptied his stomach in the quickest most efficient way, by puking his guts out. Gaz quickly followed and as they caught a bus home they cried together after seeing that horrible sight, someone they _knew_ disintegrating before their eyes.

By the time the media, hospital and government done with the surgeon he had nothing left.

~I~N~V~A~D~E~R~~Z~I~M~

Dib had made up his mind. He couldn't live with himself knowing it was him who led his not-friend, alien-buddy to his horrible fate. Dib decided he had to do something about it.

Dib was lucky. The government still couldn't gain access to Zim's base as they were too stupid to get past the still active security system, and they didn't want to ruin the advanced technology by blowing it up.

The backpack he wore was heavy; he had stolen his dad's conscious-unconscious-divider to get this done. Why his father had even invented the stupid thing he didn't want to know. He sneaked past the gnomes and made his way into the deserted living room. He ignored the emptiness of the house and began his descent into the lower lab with a sigh. He knew what he had to do.

It was right where Zim left it. The Temporal Displacer, which had led to his horrible pig filled childhood, which never really happened since Zim had done something to change it. He laughed hollowly and began playing with the controls. After a few moments he got the thing set to physical/nonphysical matter and with a sigh he pulled out his dad's device. He just hope his dad and Gaz would understand why he was doing this…

With a deep breath he put the thing around his head not noticing the small spider disk that got caught under the band.

A flash.

And then nothing, Dib's comatose body rests on the floor, all consciousness having fled.

Much later, when the infiltration experts finally got to the house and discovered Dib, the spider drone was nowhere to be found. Not that anyone knew it was there in the first place.


	2. Emotions and Reformation

Dib promptly awakens with a shudder. He wonders if he really went threw with it before he realizes he's in class and Mrs. Bitters is standing over him with a scowl on her face. He gulps before realizing if he was in mid-skool Mrs. Bitters wouldn't be his teacher anymore, which means it worked! She growls at him and when she turns her back to him he grins and mentally woops.

He looks over at Zim in time to see him sit up straight in his seat eyes widening in an instant. He shudders and glances over to Dib before turning away quickly. He turns a sickly gray-green, almost like before the surgery but Dib pushes that thought away quickly. Zim raises his hand and eagerly tells Mrs. Bitters he needs to go to the nurse. She glares but gives him one of the new and improved hall passes.

Huh…He didn't remember that happening last time. He shrugs it off as Zim being Zim before returning to his lesson.

~I~Z~

Zim is surprised when he sees a spider drone from his PAK appear on his desk. He gives the little thing permission to enter his PAK because although watching Mrs. Bitters scold the Dib is funny, only something important could possibly require this particular drone.

It was a memory chip. Which meant one of two things, either he had his memory erased (doubtful as he was the almighty ZIM!), or he needed to know something from the future. After the Temporal-displacement-pig-brain incident he created a new way for his future selves to send him information, the spider memory drones or SMD.

He sits up as he assesses the information in the chip in a moment. Four years worth of knowledge floods his brain and the last month freaks him out. His eyes widen as he shudders before glancing at Dib. He quickly looks away seeing the bigheaded boy looking at him. He can feel himself turning a sickly green and knows he needs to get out of there.

He raises his hand and tells Mrs. Bitters he needs to see the nurse. She scowls at his lack of question but hands him a new skool-board approved hall pass.

As soon as he leaves the classroom he bolts down the hall rushing to the bathroom where, much like Dib and Gaz did, he quickly looses what little he ate. He sits on the floor, holding his chest, shaking as he relives his last few moments. He gets up and makes his way down to the nurses office not even worrying about his organs.

He lets her take his temperature, knowing it'll be hotter then it should be and that his skin is cold and clammy (a strange combination for a human). She quickly sends him home, and once outside he calls Gir to come get him.

~I~Z~

When Zim doesn't return from the nurse Dib becomes suspicious. After recess when the nurse returns with the Hall pass Dib does become worried. Zim actually let the nurse examine him? Did he get sent home? What changed to make this happen? He hadn't done anything different then the first time had he? He knew Zim never became sick during the first timeline…would something change so drastically he couldn't rely on his knowledge of what was to come?

The day passes agonizingly slow, and it's a Friday so he'll have no excuse to see Zim…unless he tries an infiltration tactic again…yes, that's what he'll do.

On the way home he begins to plan how to infiltrate Zim's base. However, not showing how much he knows about the defenses was harder then he had originally thought.

~I~Z~

Gir sat in his masters' lap on the couch. His master was shivering and had a blanket wrapped around his body.

Gir wanted to question his master's strange behavior but he didn't really want to complain. Something told Gir he needed to stay focused and calm. His master never really just sat with Gir and he didn't want to ruin it. The Angry Monkey show was on but his master wasn't really watching it. He knew his master didn't really like the show at all but it wasn't really there for something to do. It was just like the background music in video games. His master was lost in his thoughts. Should he try and help him find his way back to Gir? But no, his master would want to have asked for his help. He'd just sit here comforting his master. Yes…comfort his…master… Gir thought as he fell asleep.

~I~Z~

Zim hugged Gir to his squeedlyspooch and cringed. The little robot had fallen asleep a short while ago and now instead of watching his pe—servant's thoughts play across his face he was stuck thinking about the future.

Obviously the Dib-monkey succeeded or else he wouldn't have gotten the memory chip. He didn't know that Zim knew what was going to happen, he hadn't noticed the chip at all even though it was in his pocket the whole time, humans. He thinks disgusted.

The first thing he had to do was better mask his base. Maybe even upgrade his disguise a little bit. He had to study the stupid stinking humans more. He needed to blend in especially since his tallest didn't want him at all… He frowned at the thought of his tallest but pushed it aside to get his thoughts in order.

So first he would redraw his base. Then he'd change his hair slightly and maybe wear stinking human clothes, which means he needed earth monies. He needed to keep the Dib mostly in the dark. And he needed to decide what to do about his tallest playing him for a fool…

'I'd better get started soon.' He thought as he started to get up. Gir shifted in his lap, and lightly wrapped his arms around his neck. He looks down at the robot before smiling slightly. He puts his arms under Gir, and cradles the hyperactive robot against his chest, as he walks to his room. There he lay down before deciding everything could wait for the morning.

~I~Z~

By the time Dib gets his plan straight it's already past five in the morning. He yawns and frowns before deciding that he couldn't do it in the daylight and the sun would rise soon. He stretches out across his floor tilting his head back to look out his window. He watches for a while as the sky starts to lighten before he crawls to his bed and falls asleep.

~I~Z~

When Zim wakes from his standby mode it is peaceful. He pauses a moment relishing in the peace before thoughts of the previous night fill his mind. 'Was Gir still asleep? Was that why it was so peaceful?' His brow furrows as he sends his thoughts out for his pet—servant's thoughts. His antennas wiggle as he searches for the loose tendrils. He feels them bouncing around in his gum wrapper and paperclip filled brain and frowns. 'If he's awake why isn't he being loud?' He thinks before opening his eyes to see a pair of blue one's staring at him. He raises what would be a brow if he had any and opens his mouth to ask a question before Gir beats him to the answer.

"Master sleeps so peacefully. I like seeing master peaceful." Gir says with a smile. Zim blushes and looks away before standing and picking up the little robot.

"Gir would you like to make pancakes with me?" He asks knowing what's coming but he can't help it. He didn't realize how great he had it until he was locked up and had no access to Gir. He didn't realize how much Gir was a constant in his life till it was taken away.

Gir squeals and jumps from his arms and runs to the kitchen yelling about making pancakes. Zim follows at a more sedated pace.

The whole morning Zim has a small smile on his face and Gir seems to be glowing.

~I~Z~

Gir is really happy when master asks to make pancakes. He wonders why his master is so different but he doesn't really mind at all. It is definitely a good change. Gir loves his master.

~I~Z~

After breakfast Zim heads down into the underground base with Gir and tells him to say there for a while. He tells Gir he has a surprise for him and if he comes up it'll be ruined. Gir shrieks and agrees immediately. Zim smiles and grabs his design pad which has his drawing of the house on it before going up to stand outside the house.

He looks at the two houses next to his and designs his with a little of both, using normal colors, shrinking the gnomes, using a plain door, and adding some normal fixtures like shutters and curtains in his windows. He adds some bushes and short trees along the edge of his fence. Then he plugs his idea into the cornerstone of his house and it blinks before becoming like how he designed. He looks over the normal looking house and makes sure it fits in with the neighborhood before nodding and moving to re-design the interior.

He keeps the first room the living room with most of the stuff the same only making it look more put together. He puts in a door on the far wall from the front door and makes the next room the kitchen. There he lines the upper walls with cabinets and lines one wall with a dishwasher, a stove, a sink, and a microwave. The next wall he leaves blank and he puts the refrigerator on the wall with the door lining the rest of that wall with low cabinets. He creates a hall between the living room and the kitchen. And he moves the toilet to a bathroom and includes a bath/shower and a sink with, he shudders, running water. Further along the hall he creates a walk in closet filled with his cleaning supplies and blankets and such. Next to the closet he adds a door that leads down to a 'basement' and in the basement he hides a door using Irken illusions. Back on the ground floor at the end of the hall on either side he creates a carpeted stairway.

The second floor has a hall splitting it down the middle. He creates four rooms. Two on one side are the same size, sparsely furnished, "guest" rooms. The other side one room is larger then the other with a door connecting the two. The larger room is, of course his. It's done in Irken purple and black with a large window showing the street. The smaller room is Gir's. It's done in light blue and red, and the walls are covered in Angry Monkey and Taco posters. He smiles and goes down to the lab to get Gir to show him the new house.

Gir, predictably screams and hugs Zim until his face turns a sickly purple-green before running off to explore the 'new' house. Zim goes down to the lab to upgrade the security around the house. He can tell when Gir finds his own room as the whole house shakes with a super-happy screech.

~I~Z~

Dib sneaks out of the house late that night. He had slept longer then he though he would have so he had to leave later then he planned. He just hoped nothing would go wrong.

He sneaks down the street done up in his skin-tight black stealth suit and his goggles. He quickens his pace as a dog barks at him.

When he reaches Zim's house he is surprised to see a whole different house there. Well, there were still lawn gnomes but other then that, it was like he had moved out and someone else moved in! What was going on? He stepped over the fence and quietly made his way up to the _normal _looking door. He scratched the back of his neck and went to try the handle when Zim answered the door.

"What do _you _want Hyuman?"


	3. The PAIN!

AN:/ Thank you JoeMerl for reviewing! Anyone else reading this please leave me some feedback!

"uh…um…uh…" Dib stutters looking shocked at the undisguised Alien.

"You _do _know it's socially inept to be coming over this late at night do you not?" Zim asks holding the door open for the Hyuman. Dib is so surprised he walks in, doesn't even _notice _the insult, and takes the offered seat on the couch. "Do you want anything to drink?" Zim asks moving into the kitchen.

"Uh, no thanks…" Dib says examining the new house. The living room is almost the same; he looks up and doesn't see any thick cords of alien technology. "I see you renovated…" He says when Zim returns.

"Yes. I was growing bored with how the house looked previously." He says taking a sip of his Cola, not of the poop brand (because he remembered how that dog managed to fool Zim into selling over 1.2 billion candy bars, not that the great and All Mighty Zim could ever be fooled, oh no he just played along with the stupid mutt), but of the IRKEN brand.

"But you do know a Normal person couldn't have changed it that quickly, right?" Dib asks inquiringly while staring at the Irken logo on the can.

"What do you care? No one will notice, you hyumans only see what you want to see. They'll think they were just imagining things."

"Yeah… you're probably right…" Dib says with a frown.

"So why are you here?" Zim asks cutting to the chase.

"Uh…yesterday…"

"Saturday or Friday?" He asks knowing it's past midnight.

"Friday, are you ok?" Dib asks.

"It was a…genetic illness…I should be fine." Zim lies with a smirk. "Why? Worried?" He asks grinning.

"Uh…no! I just…and…yeah…"

"So you were?" Zim says.

"No…it was…I just…" Suddenly Zim flinches. Dib watches him curiously. "Are you ok?"

"Yessss…" Zim hisses as he closes his eyes in obvious pain. "But it's time for you to leave. Your earth-stink is killing my antennas." Dib continues to watch the alien as he gets up and pushes him to the door.

"I'llseeyoumonday…maybe…" Zim says rushed before pushing him out the door and slamming it shut behind him.

Dib stands shocked for a minute before he shrugs and notices the can of Irken cola in his hand. He whoops and runs down the street, hoping to get home quickly to examine the substance. About halfway to the turn he hears a scream that sounds suspiciously like Zim. He turns and looks at the house but nothing seems out of the ordinary.

~I~Z~

"Computer! What is the meaning of this pain~!" Zim whines as he falls against the door.

"Uh…it seems your…PAK…is…uh…upgrading your body…"

"WHAT!?! Why?!" Zim demands.

"Uh…I don't know why…"

"Find out! Make an educated guess!"

"Uh…self preservation?"

"Explain to ZIM!" He yells pounding on the floor.

"Those memories you got…were painful, your death. Your PAK is designed to survive. Even if the host dies it looks for a new host, when you died, and it with you it sent out those memories to keep it alive. So…it's upgrading your body to uhm…keep you from dieing like that again…?"

"And how much of that is speculation?" Zim asks before calling for Gir.

"About 40 percent…"

"Master?" Gir asks eyes red.

"Take me to my room." Zim says weakly.

"Yes my master!" Gir says picking him up and carrying him to his room where he lays him on the bed.

"Thank you Gir."

"Is master going to be ok?" Gir asks his eyes turning blue.

"I should be fine Gir…I'm just…getting upgraded."

"Ooh, like my chipy thingy?"

"Yes Gir, like your guidance chip…" Zim says before falling unconscious.

"Master…" Gir whispers before lying down next to Zim careful not to hurt him.

~I~Z~

Mrs. Bitters sat at her desk waiting for her Doomed children to come into their Doomed classroom. If she could have been surprised she would have jumped at the doomed sound of the phone going off. She growled doom at it before sweeping the cobwebs off it and picking it up.

"Hello…?" She barks out.

"Hi, Mrs. Bitters? This is Zim's mom, Kim. I just wanted to let you know that the doctors say Zim won't be at skool for a week or so because he's sick."

"Oh really…?" She growls, silently happy she won't have to deal with the little green kid.

"Yep. That's all. Thank you for your time."

"Good bye…" She says before hanging up and replacing the cobwebs over the phone. The doomed children cautiously enter, all there a good five minutes before the bell rings. She stands and starts her lesson not bothering to notice the doomed empty seat in the front of the class.

"Mrs. Bitters!" Dib calls raising his hand.

"Yes Dib?" She asks glaring at the doomed boy for interrupting.

"Zim isn't here! He must be up to something…" He says with a frown.

"Zim's mother called. Zim is going to be out sick for the rest of the week and possibly next week also." She says before returning to her lesson.

"He's never sick though…" She hears him whisper. She growls at him. Stupid Doomed children…

~I~Z~

"Thank you Gir." Zim says softly.

"No problem master." Gir says fading from duty mode to sit on the bed next to a pain filled Zim. He grabs the bottom of his feet and begins humming the doom song. Zim growls but is in no condition to complain.

"Aarg~!" Zim cries holding his squeedlyspooch. "Computer! How much longer is this going to go on?!"

"Estimation…two days."

"Are you kiiiidding ME!?!" Zim shrieks.

~I~Z~

After school Tuesday, Dib dresses in his stealth suit planning an infiltration. Again, he quickly makes his way down the street to Zim's now normal looking house. He tries the door but of course it's locked. He sees the windows are locked and the curtains are closed. He notices the huge window on the second floor doesn't have any curtains and he climbs up onto a building that's slightly in front of Zim's house to get a better look. He pulls out a pair of binoculars and looks into the window.

Zim is lying twitching on a bed without his disguise on, asleep. Gir is sitting on the edge of the bed watching his master writhe in pain. It must be very painful because Zim put up with being burnt with water all the time. The sight brought up memories of Zim on the operating table—No. He had to keep those thoughts away. Zim would be fine. He would be, he had to be…

~I~Z~

After the first day Zim really didn't want to be conscious. So being the smart Irken he is, he decided to be put into a forced unconsciousness. He ordered Gir and the Computer to look after his body as he sent his mind into the land of dreams.

You see most of the reason Irkens relied on their PAKs so much was, yes they didn't need to eat or worry about going to the bathroom or any normal human body regulation, but also because they didn't want to dream. There were two ways to avoid the torture they put off as training, which ruined any hopes of having good dreams. One was to go into a 'sleep mode' where their body was put into a stasis. The second was to stay awake. The only other option was to fall into a sleep, which kept the body regulating and gave them dreams. For an Irken to _want _to be put to sleep was a giant show of just how much the pain was getting to them.

Gir just sat whistling to himself. He was worried about his master, but his master had explained most of the situation to him. He didn't know why his masters PAK had decided to upgrade his master's body, but if it made his master stronger then the pain would be worth it. Maybe now his master could beat the bigheaded boy, Marry…

~I~Z~

The week passed slowly reminding Dib of how much enjoyment Zim brought to his life. He had spent the week just going through the motions. Most of his free time was spent worrying—No, not-worrying, he'd never worry about the alien, but something _else_about the alien. He wondered what was going on with him. Why was he 'sick'? What happened? Why was he in pain? Why wasn't Gir doing anything to help his master? Was whatever it was, bad? When would Zim be okay?

Dib cried out in frustration Friday during lunch and just got up and left. His sister watched his progress with a frown.

~I~Z~

Zim's week was spent mostly 'asleep'. When he was awake the pain was almost unbearable but with the computer's knowledge and Gir's support he managed not to kill himself just to relieve himself of the pain. Several times he woke in a cold sweat because of nightmares. Wednesday was the last day of pain and Thursday was spent having the computer analyze what had changed with his body.

The computer found that he was now 'water-proof' and 'meat-fusion proof.' Not to mention he would grow now, just like an earth worm-baby. Amazingly, his PAK updated itself making it possible to have it removed for more then ten minutes before he would die, more like thirty now, not that Zim was going to test that theory.

Friday was spent getting used to his slightly taller frame and reassuring Gir that he was fine, better then fine now. The now familiar sound of the Dib-alarm startled him from admiring his new stature in the mirror.


	4. Interesting

Zim was admiring his taller height in the mirror when he began debating to himself whether or not he should go think about important decisions (read: what to do about his tallest, and how he was going to get monies for clothes) when he was interrupted when the Dib-alarm went off.

"Will he never leave me alone?" Zim asks himself before mumbling about bigheaded boys and their annoying nosey tendencies. He walks over to the new lift that opened up to his basement. He got just to the top of the stairs when the gnome alarm went off. He quickly hit a switch and the alarm stopped going off.

Gir had left earlier to go party at a 'rave' so Zim was alone in the house, well unless one counted the computer, but Zim didn't so he was alone. He sighs and opens the door just as Dib was trying the handle.

"That's getting weird…" Dib mumbles to himself looking up at the alien. "Up?!" Dib questions and looks at Zim's feet to see him in his normal shoes.

"Yes hyuman up and if you'd leave the mighty Zim alone we wouldn't have to meet like this. What do you want _now_hyuman?"

"Uh…I…"

"Was worried about the almighty Zim? There is no need to worry for me. For I am the ALMIGHTY ZIM!" He says acting like nothing happened but it comes out half-heartedly.

"I wasn't worried! I just…wanted proof you're an Alien!" Dib blurbs out before he can think of what he's saying.

"You wish to expose Zim?" Zim asks remembering that last horrible month in the future, his eyes flashing.

"Yes—well no. But…" Dib stutters and looks at Zim to gauge his reaction, not knowing this Zim thinks of him any differently then he did a week ago.

"You wish to have Zim splayed out on the operating table for all to see, no?" He asks eyes turning cold.

"No!"

"I know what happened, Dib. Leave me alone." Zim says before turning around and closing the door and letting Dib come to his own conclusions.

So much for not letting Dib know he knows…

~I~Z~

Dib stands shocked. What did Zim say? He _knows_? How could he possibly know what Dib thinks he knows? He couldn't…unless…

A memory. A thought. A flash of metal against the floor. Zim sitting up straight in Mrs. Bitters' class. Zim turning green-gray. Zim's new personality. The changes to his house. How Gir seems to obey him more, like he can sense something's different. How Zim was 'sick'. Everything clicks.

_Zim _knows. Zim _knows._Zim knows…

~I~Z~

Saturday was spent looking for a job suitable for ex-Irken-invader/food-drone Zim. Working at a smelly food-restaurant brought up too many unpleasant memories so that was off the list. He couldn't join anything governmental because of his age and he ran the risk of them finding out he was an alien.

Eventually he found a job at, surprise surprise, a clothing store. Not only did he get paid, but he also got discounts on anything he bought from the store and he got to study the Humans more…

Everything was in order quickly and he began right away.

Monday came quickly, and skool with it.

Zim woke from his 'sleep mode' and moved into the kitchen. Gir placed a plate of waffles in front of him and smiled hugely. Zim nodded his thanks and dug in. Today would be interesting, he mused. The Dib knew he knew. Yes it would be interesting…

~I~Z~

Dib couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes he pictured all that Zim could do with the knowledge of the future. He knew all his failed plans, and all Dibs weaknesses. Dib wondered how much Zim put on the disk. Perhaps he only got a few random clips. Then again it _was _alien technology so he could have gotten the full four years. He obviously remembered something horrible because he had turned green-gray. Maybe he remembered how Dib had won in the end. But he had come back, that had to count for something! Right?

"GET UP DIB! OR FACE MY WRATH OF DOOM~!" Gaz screeched from the other side of his door.

"I'm up!" He yells sitting up. He looks over to the window and sees his reflection. Dark bags sit under his eyes and his hair looks like crap.

Today would be interesting…Very interesting…

THE END

AN:/ It was going to be longer, but I couldn't get any more out. These chapters came to me quickly, the words fell from my brain to the keyboard easily, but when I tried to write more, it died. Tell me what you think. And yes, it is the end, but I left it open incase I ever get the inspiration to continue it in a sequel…Maybe.


End file.
